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Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Home of Great Deals: Try as he might (and he did, mightily), Abq Jew just could not resist writing about his new home, the City of Albuquerque, and its informal but highly successful auto exchange program.

Working with the Albuquerque Police Department (under DOJ Consent Decree) in conjunction with New Mexico's fleet of automobile insurance companies, the Duke City now invites its beloved citizens and its even more beloved visitors to

Trade Up Your Abq Ride!

But let's start with something completely different - Lavu. The company Lavu is one of Albuquerque's greatest start-up success stories.

Lavu is particularly proud of their New Mexico, Albuquerque, Downtown location.

Lavu is headquartered in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the beautiful American Southwest. Our headquarters are literally on Route 66, which brings a sense of both history and progress to our surroundings.

Being in Albuquerque gives us a Wild West spirit. We like to think we bring that to what we do: Like our predecessors here, we break the mold. We are pioneers and innovators.

We were the very first restaurant point-of-sale system for the iPad in the App Store, and since then, we have grown tremendously to become the largest mobile point-of-sale system for restaurants in the world.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Violent crime and drug use continues to be a big problem across Albuquerque. So much so, in fact, that one high-tech company that calls downtown home is saying enough is enough.

Ohad Jehassi, the president of Lavu – which provides point of sale software systems for restaurants – said it’s getting so bad the company is thinking about moving out of the area, or even the state.

Jehassi sent a letter to Mayor Richard Berry and Governor Susan Martinez stating that a Lavu employee recently filed an official complaint alleging the working conditions in the area where Lavu is located are unsafe and present an imminent danger for employees.

“I cannot stress enough to both of you how serious the lack of safety in downtown Albuquerque has become for Lavu,” the letter states.

Overall safety - particularly in downtown areas, and particularly at night - is a BIG problem. And the Albuquerque Police Department - again, operating under a DOJ Consent Decree - is struggling to deal with it.

But let's get back to our subset of the problem under discussion - auto thefts.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Albuquerque has a big crime problem, especially when it comes to stolen vehicles. KOB crunched statistics from the Albuquerque Police Department and found a steady increase in the number of auto thefts reported each year.

Looking back at the first four months of 2015, auto thefts jumped 35 percent from the previous year. It was another 13 percent over the same time period in 2016. Thefts are up another 28 percent so far this year.

And according to a recent national report, Albuquerque ranks first nationally for the highest auto theft rates.

The report released by the National Insurance Crime Bureau shows in 2016, Albuquerque, including Bernalillo County, led the nation with more than 10,000 auto thefts reported.

On average, 27 automobiles are stolen every day between Albuquerque and Bernalillo County.

Raul Garcia, 30, was seen on surveillance video taking the city owned bait car last month. Police say he ditched the car and got away.

Earlier this month, police spotted him again, but he took off.

Then on Tuesday, police found him in a stolen truck at the Puerto Del Sol Golf Course where once again he tried to get away, driving on flat tires and on the wrong side of the road.

Which brings Abq Jew - and you, his loyal readers, if and only if you're willing - to the Belt Parkway, New York's Greatest Scenic Ride.

New York’s Great Scenic Ride
By RACHEL WHARTONJUNE 22, 2017

California has the Pacific Coast Highway; the Southwest, its historic Route 66. New York? Our great drive may be the Belt Parkway, whose 25 miles hug green space and coastline along south Brooklyn and eastern Queens.

Yes, the Belt can be a traffic nightmare for those heading to Kennedy International Airport or over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge at rush hour.

But there are times — say, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays and early Sunday mornings — when the grandeur of the Belt reveals itself.

If you take the Belt Parkway eastward from Brooklyn (and where else would you be starting from?) and exit at Sunrise Highway, you will eventually, ultimately, arrive at the world-famous Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream.

Not too many years ago, Green Acres Mall was known as the

Auto Theft Capital of Long Island

Cars were stolen from the mall parking lot at such an alarming rate (pun fully intended) that

Folks who wanted to trade up their vehicles parked them at Green Acres, went home, waited a day or two, then reported them stolen. And they would be.

Could 'trading up' be Abq's future?

Abq Jew most sincerely hopes that Albuquerque, his new home, rises (it's already 5,312 feet above seal level downtown) to its full potential.

As for Lavu and its president, Ohad Jehassi, Abq Jew simply has this to say -

Don't leave Abq! Come to the Westside!

Despite the light touch with which Abq Jew has approached the topic, crime in Albuquerque is a serious problem. We may laugh at statistics, but when things happen to us or to our family or to our neighbors - it's serious.

Fortunately, there are organizations and - most importantly - people who never take public safety for granted. And local news outlets like KOB who report about it.

Monday, June 26, 2017

Reuben Myer Heflin and Toney the Navajo Guide:As you must surely recall (see The Road To Kayenta), Mr & Mrs Abq Jew & Alex just went on a magnificent Road Trip to Monument Valley.

When last heard from, they had just arrived in Kayenta, Arizona.

Their first overnight stop, therefore, was to be at the Hampton Inn Kayenta, one of the handful of hotels and motels that serve visitors to Monument Valley.

The Hampton Inn Kayenta is a very nice hotel with a very nice restaurant - the "Reuben Heflin Restaurant."

So Abq Jew wondered - as he is sure you, his loyal readers, also wonder -

Who the heck was Reuben Heflin?

Here is a brief biography [mostly] from Monument Valley Online. A more extensive bio appears on the cover of the restaurant's menu.

Reuben Myer Heflin (1910 - 1967)

The Navajos from the area called him Bilagaana Tso (Fat Whiteman). Reuben Heflin was born and raised at Farmington, New Mexico.

As a school teacher in December of 1937, he married another school teacher - Mildred Carson, whose parents were Indian Traders. Reuben and Mildred Heflin purchased their first store, Oljato Trading Post, and operated it from 1937 through 1945.

[Mildred Heflin was born in Farmington, New Mexico, in 1913. Her parents, O.J. Carson and Jessie Smith Carson, started out ranching but soon took up trading, buying a trading post 30 miles from Farmington at a place now called Carsons. Mildred was educated at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, and taught on the reservation for a year and a half before she married Rueben Heflin.]

In 1945, they sold Oljato Trading Post and purchased and operated Shonto Trading Post. In 1955, Reuben Heflin purchased the "second" Kayenta Trading Post - the "first" Kayenta Trading Post and Lodge having being built in 1911 by John Wetherill.

During this time, all highway pavement stopped at Tuba City to the west and Shiprock, New Mexico to the east.

The Heflins then constructed a "third" Kayenta Trading Post, which is still in operation today. Kayenta got its first Public School in 1959, and Reuben Heflin was elected to the School Board.

In 1958, he started to build the "second" motel ever in Kayenta - The Wetherill Inn.

Beginning in 1959, a new highway was under construction joining Tuba City and Shiprock, New Mexico. Reuben Heflin then constructed the Holiday Inn in 1965, which he actively operated.

He had three daughters, one of whom constructed and operates the Hampton Inn of Kayenta.

Abq Jew took a ... load of pictures. Very few of which actually turned out well. Because it turns out that if you just point and shoot and plan on using PicMonkey to fix it later, you will be disappointed.

So - the Abq Jew found the photo above (taken from the Visitors Center) somewhere on the Internet.

And he found the photos below on the website of Alex Chihak, who claims to be "an amateur photographer just trying to get better at what I do."

Three Sisters Photo by Alex Chihak

Ear of the Wind Arch Photo by Alex Chihak

Hub Butte Photo by Alex Chihak

Totem Pole and Yei Bi Chei (Dancers) Photo by Alex Chihak

Abq Jew thinks (hopes) that "Totem Pole" will soon be renamed

"Farewell Salute To Our Departing President"

And it turned out that Alex took a whole bunch of photos that really turned out great. Here are two of Abq Jew's favorites.

And it also turned out that our Navajo guide Toney could take really fine photos - he's had years of practice. With Alex's iPhone. Perhaps there's a message there.

The Wind is a 1928 American silent romantic drama film directed by Victor Sjöström. The movie was adapted by Frances Marion from the novel of the same name written by Dorothy Scarborough. It features Lillian Gish, Lars Hanson and Montagu Love. It was one of the last silent films released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and is considered one of the greatest silent films.

Here is the plot.

An impoverished young woman named Letty (Lillian Gish) travels west by train from Virginia to live at her cousin Beverly's isolated ranch in Sweetwater. On the way, she is bothered by the constantly blowing wind.

Upon arrival, she is picked up by Beverly's closest neighbors, Lige Hightower (Lars Hanson) and the older, balding Sourdough (William Orlamond), who live 15 miles from her cousin. Wirt assures her he will drop by occasionally to see how she is doing.

After endless miles in sand and wind, they arrive at the ranch ....

The Wind immediately came to what little is left of Abq Jew's mind upon his arrival in Kayenta. Just as the wind dominates the film, so, in a way, did the wind try to dominate Mr & Mrs Abq Jew & Alex's stay in Kayenta and Monument Valley.

US Route 163 is a 64-mile US Highway that runs from US 160 northward to US 191 in the US states of Arizona and Utah. The southernmost 44 miles of its length is within the Navajo Nation. The highway forms part of the Trail of the Ancients, a National Scenic Byway. The highway cuts through the heart of Monument Valley and has been featured in numerous movies and commercials.

To get to US Highway 163 from Abq NW, the fastest route (says Google Maps) is via US Highways 550 to 64 to 160. Our first overnight stop, therefore, was to be at the Hampton Inn Kayenta.

Kayenta (Navajo: Tó Dínéeshzheeʼ) is a U.S. census-designated place (CDP) which is part of the Navajo Nation and is in Navajo County, Arizona. The population was 5,189 at the 2010 census. Kayenta is located 25 miles south of Monument Valley and contains a number of hotels and motels which service visitors to Monument Valley.

Before he arrived, Abq Jew had believed that "kayenta" is a Navajo word that means "to speak like an old woman." That, it turns out, is not true.

Abq Jew apologizes for any inconvenience.

But back to US Highway 550. Upon which Abq Jew, in his almost seven years living in the Land of Enchantment, had never ventured. And around which (see photo above) is some absolutely stunningly beautiful landscape.

And whose travel lanes are separated by a skinny, paved, and (therefore) extremely dangerous median. The Santa Fe New Mexican recently reported:

2013 study offered menu of fixes to make U.S. 550 safer

A 2013 study for the New Mexico Department of Transportation proposed putting concrete or cable barriers in the middle of U.S. 550 as one of several possible ways to reduce the number of fatal collisions from vehicles crossing the highway’s narrow median into oncoming traffic.

Since that study, no barriers have been installed on the four-lane highway, which, The New Mexican reported June 11, has had a high number of fatal crashes in recent years caused by motorists crossing its 6-foot-wide paved median, which is five times narrower than recommended by the Federal Highway Administration.

The study also proposed other steps to make the high-speed route across northwestern New Mexico safer, including better marking of median lines; lighting at some intersections; and signs alerting motorists to their speed, hazardous weather conditions, upcoming intersections, curves and changes in grade.

Department spokeswoman Emilee Cantrell didn’t respond to a written request asking if any of those additional safety measures have been implemented.

There aren't many places on Highway 550 to stop and grab something to eat, but Abq Jew highly recommends aiming for Cuba (population 735) and the Cuban Cafe. A family-run establishment where everyone there treats you like family.

The Continental Divide of the Americas (also known as the Great Divide, the Continental Gulf of Division, or merely the Continental Divide) is the principal, and largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas.

The Continental Divide extends from the Bering Strait to the Strait of Magellan, and separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean from (1) those river systems that drain into the Atlantic Ocean (including those that drain into the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea), and (2) along the northernmost reaches of the Divide, those river systems that drain into the Arctic Ocean.

Though there are many other hydrological divides in the Americas, the Great Divide is by far the most prominent of these because it tends to follow a line of high peaks along the main ranges of the Rocky Mountains and Andes, at a generally much higher elevation than the other hydrological divisions.

A left at the light and you're traveling west on US Highway 64, the road to Farmington (population 45,426).

Keep going west on Highway 64. As you pass Highway 491 at the town of Shiprock (population 8,156), look south (to your left).

Your view of the Shiprock rock formation will be nothing like the photo above. But that's as close as Mr & Mrs Abq Jew & Alex got on this trip.

Keep going west on Highway 64 until you get to Teec Nos Pos, Arizona (population 730), where you join up with US Highway 160, one of the major routes crossing (and, in Arizona, entirely within) the Navajo Nation.

Photo by Alex Chihak

Oy! Keep driving west on Highway 160.

And driving and driving and driving. At some point, Mr & Mrs Abq Jew & Alex came to realize that our (Enterprise rental) Chevy Traverse was feeling sluggish because of the fierce headwind we were attempting to drive into. (No trees in sight to bend, hence no branches to observe waving.)

The Chad Mitchell Trio perform[ed] what was the first commercial recording of the Bob Dylan classic other than by Dylan himself.

The song had been brought to the CMT by their musical director and arranger, Milt Okun, and the Trio (already famous for its satirical political songs) was eager to record the number, release it as a single, and title what would be their third album after it. An old school producer at the group's Kapp Records label vetoed the ideas, however, maintaining that "no song with death in the lyrics was ever a hit," and the album was released as "The Chad Mitchell Trio In Action."

Okun, however, was also the musical director and arranger for another young and eager folk trio called Peter, Paul, and Mary, and he brought the song to them.

And since we're talking about the wind ... and you know how what is left of Abq Jew's mind works, when it works at all ... here is The CMT at one of their PBS specials. Yes, that's Paul Prestopino on banjo.

Monday, June 12, 2017

All Women All Mariachi: Mariachi, unlike flamenco (see Flamenco and Emerods), does not appear to have roots in the Sephardic culture of Spain and Portugal.

Mariachi Flor de Toloache

No, mariachi did not come over with the conversos who (in part) established both Mexico and Nuevo Mexico. Instead, Abq Jew will claim, mariachi was first heard in the southwestern LA city of Inglewood, in the summer of 1970.

Anyway, that's where and when Abq Jew first heard the sound of mariachi. At the home of (see Remembrance: Morro Bay, California) our dear friends, Mike and Jean Schuster, of blessed memory, and their twin daughters Laurel and Carol - also, alas, of blessed memory.

Actually, it was next door - their neighbor was having a high school graduation party, and invited a local mariachi band to perform for us all. ¡Qué bueno!

Abq Jew - along with most of the world - eagerly paid close and happy attention to mariachi in 1987, when Linda Ronstadt released her Grammy Award-winning album Canciones de Mi Padre.

Latin Grammy Nominees Mariachi Flor de Toloachee make New York City history as its’ First and Only All­-Women Mariachi Group.

Founded in 2008, Mariachi Flor de Toloache is lead by singers Mireya I. Ramos (founder) & Shae Fiol (original member). Reminiscent of the early days of mariachi the group started as a trio, Harp, Violin and Vihuela.

Today, Mariachi Flor De Toloache performs as a full Mariachi ensemble. The members hail from diverse cultural backgrounds such as Mexico, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Australia, Colombia, Germany, Italy and the United States. This defines their unique flavor and sound.

The result of this cultural bouquet is an edgy, versatile and fresh take on traditional Mexican music. They coalesce as would a band of sisters, with a grace and vibrant beauty that casts a spell over their audiences not unlike the legendary Toloache flower still being used in Mexico as a love potion.

While working to preserve centuries old traditions of Mariachi, their melange of the traditional and the modern pushes the boundaries of the genre and brings Mariachi music to new audiences.

I was encouraged to hear that Patty Jenkins was directing; her writing and direction of Monster (2003) were miraculous.

I was even more encouraged when I heard that Gal Gadot had been cast as the lead. She is beautiful, she is strong, she can be very funny, and I liked the idea of the world hearing an Israeli accent in that role. A Jewish woman as a super hero? Oh, yeah!

I saw the poster and dared to hope.

I won’t spoil the film for you. I spent quite a bit of it in tears, watching a brave woman do terrifying things in defense of innocents. Some of those tears were that I was finally seeing the movie I’d wanted to see ever since I first found a Wonder Woman comic book discarded on a sidewalk in Nashville 50 years ago and recognized her as mine.

Some of those tears were the tears of a graying feminist who finally got to see a great movie about a wonderful woman, directed by a woman. Some of them were because the movie is genuinely moving, and occasionally pretty scary (take that PG-13 rating seriously, please.)

Does the film have Jewish content? You bet. It stars a Israeli woman. Wonder Woman may have a Greek name but she learns a very Jewish lesson: humanity was born good, with a terrible capacity for evil. The fight is to free that which is good while curbing that which is evil. It is not a simple task.

Half an hour earlier, I’d been contemplating skipping the film. I never read the comics. I wasn’t a superfan. The last action movie I saw was “Batman,” the remake before the remake, in my parents’ living room with my younger brothers, sometime in the mid- to late 1990s.

But 20 minutes into “Wonder Woman,” the director Patty Jenkins’s take on the iconic DC Comics story, the tears came uncontrollably — as the Amazonian women twirled and glided, fierce and muscular and graceful at once, engaged in battle moves that looked as if they were choreographed for women’s bodies (which, it turned out, they were).

I mean, the outfits were a little absurd. Their gladiator sandals seemed to have wedges. And yet, much like Jill Lepore, the author of “The Secret History of Wonder Woman,” put it in The New Yorker: “I am not proud that I found comfort in watching a woman in a golden tiara and thigh-high boots clobber hordes of terrible men. But I did.”

In fact, I was proud. So were legions of women I know who took daughters, nieces, nephews, mentees or simply went in droves, some of them to women-only screenings — and walked out of theaters with a strange feeling of ferociousness.

is a group of Jewish women from Israel and around the world who strive to achieve the right to wear prayer shawls, pray and read from the Torah collectively and out loud at the Western Wall (Kotel) in Jerusalem, Israel.

The Western Wall is Judaism’s most sacred holy site and the principal symbol of Jewish peoplehood and sovereignty, and Women of the Wall works to make it a holy site where women can pray freely.

Women of the Wall is comprised of women from all denominations of Judaism – Orthodox, Reform, Conservative, Masorti, Renewal and Reconstructionist.

Since they began, Women of The Wall have been slandered, libeled, have heard words they never heard in the Bible - and worse.

Gee, but it's great to be back home!

So, back to One Big Thing:

A local 505 chapter of WoTW is being formed and will offer - for all genders, in solidarity with Women of The Wall - a first